A Mother's Love
by Teharissa
Summary: When Steph was fifteen, she had a daughter. She never got to see her grow up. But when a certain girl shows up on her door, they're both in for a lot of surprises. Or, in which I am curious about what happened to that daughter (pre-new 52) and decided to turn her into an OC, mostly because there is no canon material on her.


**So I had started wondering what happened to Stephanie's kids in the comics (pre-new 52 and rebirth) and then I decided to write about it. So this is about an OC but at the same time… Not? Like there is no information on the kid (I think it's a girl) so I had to create her.**

 **I do not own Batman, DC, or any of their characters. I also apologize if any of them are OOC.**

* * *

When Mallory was six, she was seated at the table of her dining room and her parents smiled at her from across the table.

"Honey, I have something to tell you." Her mom had said, "This doesn't change anything, and please know we love you- but you're adopted."

As a six-year-old, these words made it feel as if her world was crashing and burning. Her eyes widened in the innocent pain only a child could have, and she suddenly was standing with tears in her eyes.

Her parents were by her side in an instant, hugging her, and whispering sweet nothings. Telling her that this didn't change anything, that they loved her. They brushed her blonde hair back from her face and tucked her into bed with an extra kiss on the cheek and the promise they would never leave her.

When Mallory was ten, she would stare out the window hoping to catch a sight of one of Gotham's protectors. Batman or Nightwing or Batgirl. Eyes wide and glimmering with excitement, she would poke her younger sister awake if one of the heroes could be seen. It rarely happened, but when it did she and Sofia would stare at them with a sort of bated wonder as they swung past. And then Mallory would laugh, and poke Sofia in the ribs.

"What if my birth parents were superheroes." She would whisper excitedly, and Sofia would nod with just as much enthusiasm.

When Mallory was thirteen, she felt her body and soul burn with a purpose, to discover the identity of her biological parents. With a false confidence and the support from her mother and father, and occasionally eleven-year-old Sofia, she searched for them.

And that's what lead to this.

* * *

Mallory clenched her eyes closed, trying to ignore the prominent feelings of nausea and fear. This was it. Months searching, gaining permission, building up her courage- all for this one moment. The moment that she had spent all of her short thirteen years fantasizing about. She forced her hand to move, a loud rap on the door in front of her. Her eyes opened, and her breath stilled.

For a moment nothing happened- a silence that only worsened the twisting of her stomach stretching on. And then the door opened, light suddenly hitting her eyes and a tired figure standing in front of her. The woman looked down at Mallory in surprise, as if expecting someone else. Mallory forced herself to still, to not run away, and to open her _damn mouth_.

"Are you Stephanie Brown?" The words came out rushed and weak. Mallory wanted to die. She eyed the stairs longingly but stood her ground.

"Yes?" Stephanie said, eyebrows drawing together, "Who are you?"

"Can we talk inside?" Mallory asked. Her hands clenched, knuckles becoming evidently white. Stephanie looked down at them, then back up. She opened the door a little wider and beckoned her inside.

The apartment was a mess. The door let straight into a main room, exhibiting stained couches and candy wrappers. Some clothes were piled by one of the doors, a couple stray socks sitting in various places. Some old textbooks were haphazardly thrown across the room, and the TV was still on, broadcasting the latest adventures of Black Bat and Batgirl. And of course, there were pictures.

While not many, there were several frames hung up on the walls. Stephanie kissing a black haired girl's cheek. A boy with dead eyes flipping her off. Stephanie sticking her tongue out at… Bruce Wayne….

Mallory didn't have time to dwell on these anymore, as Stephanie had sat on one of the couches and gave Mallory a pointed look (Besides, if Mallory could dwell on those, she would be shocked…. Stephanie had a life, and Mallory sure as well wasn't part of it…). Mallory tentatively sat beside her, letting loose a shaky breath.

"Um…. I guess you want to know who I am." Mallor fought for words, tugging slightly on her braid, "In simple terms, I guess…. I'm your daughter."

Stephanie jolted, almost as if she had been shocked. An audible gasp made it from her throat, and then a slightly strangled whine. Her hands covered her mouth, and as she continued to stare at Mallory, tears pricked her eyes.

"Is it true?" She finally whispered, the first tear falling down her face. She reached a hand out, almost as if she wanted to touch Mallory- confirm she wasn't an illusion- before drawing her hand back in, "Is it really… you?"

Mallory froze, voice catching. She had found her- what next? What could she possibly say? What could you ask about the woman who abandoned you? Why? She felt her own eyes sting, and she rubbed at them.

"I'm so sorry." Stephanie cried, "I wanted to keep you, but I was young and I couldn't handle a baby and- oh god." A steadying breath, before she turned crystal blue eyes up to her, "Has your life been good? Did I make the right decision?"

Mallory gulped, her throat burning, "Yeah. I have had a good life. My Mo- adoptive mother and father love me and all. And I have a sister and- I- I just spent my whole life wanting to know who you are and why you gave me up? I just, I wanted to meet you. And my biological dad, and just…. I don't know."

They were both crying now, ugly sobs. It was odd, Mallory thought, to be so vulnerable in front of a complete stranger. Someone who had made her, but had never seen her before.

"I wanted to meet you too- I always wondered what you were doing, who you were with, if you ever thought about me? I'm sorry. I left you because… I was fifteen. Too young. And-" Stephanie stopped as if preventing herself from saying something big, "What's your name?"

"Mallory. My name's Mallory." Mallory took a deep breath, "And I would like you to be in my life… if you're okay with that, that is?"

"Of course I'm okay with that!" Stephanie whispered, "I want to know you. I- do you want anything to eat? Stupid Steph, I should have offered that, to begin with!"

Mallory smiled slightly, before nodding, "Sure. Let me call my Mom and see if that's okay."

She froze suddenly. What was she supposed to call Stephanie? Her adoptive mother? Did she screw up? Stephanie didn't seem to notice though, so Mallory relaxed somewhat.

"Sure. Hey, where is she? I wouldn't mind meeting her." Stephanie said, "She raised you, and I couldn't ever thank her enough for that."

"She's waiting downstairs. She-" _understood I had to do this, alone,_ "Might meet you later on."

"Okay, cool. So Mallory, what do you want to eat?" Stephanie turned to her with tears still falling from her eyes but a smile so bright she couldn't resist.

* * *

When Stephanie Brown was fifteen, she had a baby. It was a painful, confusing, awful, _wonderful_ time of her life. But she knew she couldn't keep her daughter- she was young, she didn't have money or resources, she was _dedicated_ to being Spoiler.

So she kept on going, always wondering where her daughter was, a temptation to check just beyond her fingers. But she didn't- despite having the resources and the greatest detectives in the world, she couldn't force herself into her daughter's life. So she kept herself at bay, and instead focused on other parts of her life.

Years passed. Shit happened. Soon, she was twenty-eight and still thought about her daughter every day. It was slightly removed, as it had been so long since she gave her daughter up. It still hurt, but it was done and gone and distant.

But the second Mallory entered her life again, the pain and the sadness came crashing down on her. It felt like the first day.

* * *

 _She shouldn't have let Mallory get close to her…._

* * *

Steph tried to contain her annoyance that no one had come for her yet. Mallory's eyes were dilated and wide, breath coming in frantic gasps. Clearly, she hadn't been kidnapped before- _Steph shouldn't have been used to being kidnapped_ \- and all because she had chosen to spend that day at Steph's house.

It had been a month or two since she had first met Mallory, and then Mallory's parents (it hurt, but she knew better than to think she was really Mallory's mom. She hadn't raised her, hadn't seen her first steps or words) and the two had decided to go out to see a movie. Of course, this was Gotham. They had to get kidnapped in the process.

Steph glared up at their captor, a man who didn't look much older than her- maybe thirty? He completely ignored her, focusing more on chatting on the phone then spending a lot of time watching his captives.

Screw this. Steph wasn't going to wait for back up when her _daughter_ was stuck here with her too. Since the guys were distracted, and since Steph had her belt on her, she felt fairly confident in her escape. Despite her hand being zip tied, she shifted slightly so that she could reach for the pouch nearest to her- holding some extra batarangs for situations like this. It was relatively easy, and her hands were free in two seconds flat.

She cast a glance at Mallory, who had her eyes pressed closed. All the goons were playing games or were diligently guarding entrances to the warehouse- none so much as looking at them. There were several lights overhead, each flickering slightly with a vague lighting. Steph knew that she should wait for backup. What she was about to do was reckless and possibly endangering her secret identity.

Whatever. She moved quickly, aiming and throwing the batarang with an accuracy that only came after years of practice. It hit its mark- successfully cutting off the electricity in the warehouse. The flickering overhead lights forced the room into darkness.

Tossing an extra domino mask on her face (night vision, yay!), she examined the room again. The sounds of gunshots, and screams of, "It's the bat!" made their way to her ears. She cut through Mallory's binds, before dragging Mallory to the storage crates.

"Stay here. I'll be right back." Steph whispered, and she could only barely hear a small whispered, "yes" from Mallory before she was gone.

Disarming the goons was easy, their guns easily knocked aside and pressure points hit as they collapsed to the floor. Amateurs.

With a practiced ease, she took out every single hostile within three minutes. She collected them all together, binding them with rope and making doubly sure they were completely knocked out before pulling a flashlight out of her belt.

"Hey Mallory, it's okay now." She turned the light on, "Let's take you home."

"Steph?" Mallory asked, voice weak, "It hurts…."

"What?" Steph was by her side in an instant, holding Mallory close and searching for a wound. It wasn't hard to find, with blood darkening the sleeve of Mallory's shirt. The bullet grazed her arm- Steph let out a sigh of relief.

"Sweetie, you're going to be just fine. You're going to be okay, just come with me." Steph muttered, easily picking Mallory up and cradling her close. She made doubly sure only to portray an aura of comfort and love and certainty, rather than the burning rage of anyone _trying to hurt her baby!_ It ended up being much less awkward then Bruce's attempts at this, in case anyone was wondering.

They left the warehouse silently, the cool night air making Mallory shiver slightly in Steph's arms. Her eyes were clenched closed in pain, face contorted as she tried not to cry out. Another reminder of how vulnerable she was, how much protection she needed. Steph set her down, suddenly quite aware of how she was in her civvies. Grappling to her apartment was not a safe option right now…. But Mallory.

Steph called Tim. He picked up on the second ring.

"Steph, I'm busy." He deadpanned, and honestly, that was rude.

"Hello to you Tim. Thanks for asking how I was doing, I'm doing great." She huffed, "Can you bring a car? And no, I don't know where I am, so please just track my phone."

She heard muffled grumbling on Tim's end, and his complaining started. Steph glanced at Mallory, the pale look and confusion that she exhibited.

"Tim, please! This is serious! Look, my daughter has just been shot and kidnapped, and I'm not in costume!" Steph shouted, maybe exaggerating the wound a little and also completely ignoring the fact that Mallory had probably figured out her biological mother was a superhero.

"I'm on my way." Tim hung up, his voice indicating that they needed to talk as soon as this was over. Right. She hadn't told Tim about Mallory yet. Wincing, she turned back to her daughter and dropped beside her.

"Steph, what about the hospital?" Mallory whispered, and Steph wanted to hit her head against a wall. Right. Normal people went to the hospital after they got shot.

"Tim will drive us there, okay?" She said, trying to recover. She pressed her hands onto the wound, applying slight pressure. Mallory cried out for a moment before she felt calmness take over.

"Steph… Are you a superhero?" Mallory asked, clutching onto Steph's arm like a lifeline. Steph felt herself stiffen, even though she knew this question was coming. She bit her lip, choosing her next words carefully.

"I didn't do a great job of being discreet, did I?" She let out a little laugh, "But yeah. I'm Batgirl. Don't tell anyone, but as my kid, I figure you should know."

"Oh," Mallory said, before writhing again as the pain hit her. Steph hissed, feeling her brain come up with all sorts of fabulous techniques to teach whoever hurt her daughter a lesson.

"It's gonna be okay, you're going to be fine." Steph said, cradling her into her arms, "You're not alone, you'll get through this."

"Oh… thanks Mom." Mallory whispered, leaning into her touch a bit more as the wound was bandaged. Tim's car pulled in just at the moment, and despite the upcoming interrogations (from both Tim and then Mallory once she felt better), all Steph could feel was pure elation and delight. Mom. She was _Mom_.

It was the best feeling in the world.

* * *

 **Yeah, that didn't turn out as planned. I don't regret it though. So, a few notes.**

 **1) Mallory definitely views Steph as her mom at this point, but her adoptive mom is still her mom. They are both her parents, and they don't have to cancel each other out or whatever.**

 **2) The reason the bullet grazing her was made such a big deal is because Mallory is** _ **not**_ **a vigilante. And I know, that if I got grazed it would probably hurt enough, be a big deal to me, and scare me a lot. Which is why Mallory is so in pain over this, while Stephanie is a lot less worried over that. Yes, she's concerned for Mallory, but since she's a vigilante she's used to a** _ **lot**_ **worse and therefore is pre-programmed to be a lot less worried.**

 **I hope this was good, and that people liked this. It's an idea that was stuck in my head for quite a while.**


End file.
